Rodeo Saturday, Vetstock July 5-6, 2013

Friday

Jun 28, 2013 at 3:56 PMJun 29, 2013 at 8:35 AM

The Malibu Dude Ranch in Milford, begins its second rodeo season on Saturday. Spectators will watch as daring dudes take brief rides on bucking bulls, cowboys and cowgirls rope steers and race around barrels, and more.

Jessica Cohen

The Malibu Dude Ranch in Milford, begins its second rodeo season on Saturday. Spectators will watch as daring dudes take brief rides on bucking bulls, cowboys and cowgirls rope steers and race around barrels, and more.

This year, owners Allan and Phyllis Detweiler have reason to take special pride in their enterprise: The ranch recently won the Gene Kilgore World's Best Ranches Award, singling it out as exceptional for hospitality, equestrian programs and guest ratings, said Allan Detweiler.

In turn, they will be celebrating rodeo champions in a special way with belt buckles provided by their sponsor, Montana Silversmith.

"In the cowboy world, the buckle award signifies the true athlete," said Phyllis

Detweiler, "like a trophy you can wear on your jeans."

Their second rodeo will be part of a two-day benefit event, Vetstock, on July 5-6, to raise money for Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 that raises donations of money, materials, and labor for building homes engineered to allow maximal mobility and independence for severely injured veterans.

Net proceeds from Vetstock will be used to build a home for Cpl. David Noblit of Selinsgrove.

He lost both legs above the knee and his left arm was damaged when an improvised explosive device blew up during his second tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Vetstock begins at 7 p.m. July 5, with headliner Joe Bayer Band playing country-western music.

Then at 9:30 a.m. July 6, the Warrior Watch Motorcycle Ride will leave American Legion Post 139 in Milford, for a formal wreath-laying ceremony at Veterans Park in Matamoras.

From 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Post 139 will have a military exhibit that includes memorabilia from the Vietnam War, vintage trucks and jeeps, and a Huey helicopter, on which one of the post's members may have been evacuated, according to Delaware Township supervisor and veteran Tom Ryan.

Parting Glass, an Irish folk music band, will play at the Malibu Ranch saloon on Saturday from 1-4 p.m.. Its members include Walter Hughes, who was a paratrooper in the Normandy invasion, says Ryan. Meanwhile, outside in the arena, Azlyn, a band from Dingmans Ferry, will play rock.

A rifle raffle, with tickets at $10 apiece, three for $25, will take place at 6:40 p.m., and the rodeo will begin at 7 p.m.